VALUTAZIONI PRELIMINARI SULL'ALIMENTAZIONE DI SOCCORSO DEI CERVIDI IN VAL DI NON

The objectiveof this thesisis to gather preliminary information on the practice of winter supplementary feeding of deer in Val di Non( eastern Italian Alps).This practice has beenused extensively in the past years in the attempt to facilitate wintersurvival ofred and roe deer. First, the 62 feeders located in the area were mapped with the use of a GPS, and their characteristics were recorded. This showed a large variability among hunting districts in terms of deer suitable surface per feeder and in capacity (q of supplementary food) and elevation of each feeder. Secondly, with the use of cameras it was possible to obtain preliminary information on the behaviour of deer at feeders. Red deer showed to be more nocturnal than roe deer, with male much less gregarious than females. Time spent feeding was on average close to 80-90% of time spent at the feeders for both species.